NEW DELHI: A non-governmental agency has claimed that the Delhi government shut its homeless resource centres because it had allegedly pointed out serious security loopholes in the way the unique identification (UID) enrolment of the homeless was being carried out.
The NGO, Indo Global Social Service Society, had stopped conducting UID enrolment on behalf of the government at the two homeless centres it was running after discovering major lacunae in the way homeless people in the capital were being registered for the card.
IGSSS said the homeless were being registered at its address and its volunteers were being made to 'introduce' the applicants, with no clarity on what the organization's liability would be in case any of the registered persons landed in legal trouble. The NGO said one of its employees had even been hauled up by the police for the death of a homeless person because the survey slip with his name had been found in the deceased's pocket.
The NGO said it had raised these concerns with Mission Convergence, its appointed 'mother NGO'. But instead of addressing the issue, the Delhi government decided to shunt IGSSS out of the operation of running homeless centres.
IGSSS officials said they had also pointed out that the government was piggy-backing the conditional cash transfer scheme through the UID without informing the NGOs involved in running the centres. The NGO said it had sought other details of the funded programme but the government was not forthcoming.
The NGO said in due course of time, even the bank accounts opened in the names of the homeless would have the organization's address and it may not be able to trace the homeless at a later point of time.
It had asked the government what would happen in such cases. What were the introducer's and the organization's liabilities? The Delhi government and its appointed NGO had written back saying the rules had been altered and that the NGO and its workers would no longer need to introduce the homeless in UID applications and that the 'mother NGO' would take the responsibility upon itself.
But, claims IGSSS, the government did not keep its word and the issue remained unresolved.
When TOI queried the Delhi government, its officer, Shyami Sodhi (director Mission Convergence) said, "Reservations about UID is irrelevant. It is a mandate of the Government of India, not a choice. How we do it is up to us as the registrar for the state. NGOs such as IGSSS are bound by our instructions passed through the MNGO."
She said the question of faking identity didn't arise because the homeless had been surveyed by the MNGO. But when asked how the MNGO had verified the homeless individuals, she said, "We work on trust, we have gone by what the MNGO said."
She admitted that in cases related to the homeless, there was no foolproof way of authenticating identities before UID cards are handed out. But Sodhi said, "IGSSS was on board from the beginning and then they suddenly decided to question the UID process. This is not proper."
IGSSS defended itself claiming it got apprehensive about the process when it began enrolment and kept trying to talk to officials and the nodal NGO. Instead to resolving the issue, IGSSS was asked to shut shop, the NGO officials said.
Original News TOI